Geometrically nonlinear analysis of layered composite plates and shells

A degenerated three dimensional finite element, based on the incremental total Lagrangian formulation of a three dimensional layered anisotropic medium was developed. Its use in the geometrically nonlinear, static and dynamic, analysis of layered composite plates and shells is demonstrated. A two dimenisonal finite element based on the Sanders shell theory with the von Karman (nonlinear) strains was developed. It is shown that the deflections obtained by the 2D shell element deviate from those obtained by the more accurate 3D element for deep shells. The 3D degenerated element can be used to model general shells that are not necessarily doubly curved. The 3D degenerated element is computationally more demanding than the 2D shell theory element for a given problem. It is found that the 3D element is an efficient element for the analysis of layered composite plates and shells undergoing large displacements and transient motion

Geometrically nonlinear analysis of laminated elastic structures

This final technical report contains three parts: Part 1 deals with the 2-D shell theory and its element formulation and applications. Part 2 deals with the 3-D degenerated element. These two parts constitute the two major tasks that were completed under the grant. Another related topic that was initiated during the present investigation is the development of a nonlinear material model. This topic is briefly discussed in Part 3. To make each part self-contained, conclusions and references are included in each part. In the interest of brevity, the discussions presented are relatively brief. The details and additional topics are described in the references cited

Antiplane-inplane shear mode delamination between two second-order shear deformable composite plates

The second-order laminated plate theory is utilized in this work to analyze orthotropic composite plates with asymmetric delamination. First, a displacement field satisfying the system of exact kinematic conditions is presented by developing a double-plate system in the uncracked plate portion. The basic equations of linear elasticity and Hamilton’s principle are utilized to derive the system of equilibrium and governing equations. As an example, a delaminated simply supported plate is analyzed using Lévy plate formulation and the state-space model by varying the position of the delamination along the plate thickness. The displacements, strains, stresses and the J-integral are calculated by the plate theory solution and compared with those by linear finite-element calculations. The comparison of the numerical and analytical results shows that the second-order plate theory captures very well the mechanical fields. However, if the delamination is separated by only a relatively thin layer from the plate boundary surface, then the second-order plate theory approximates badly the stress resultants and so the mode-II and mode-III J-integrals and thus leads to erroneous results

Experimental and numerical study on vibration and buckling characteristics of laminated composite plates

Composite materials are being increasingly used in automotive, civil, marine, and especially weight sensitive aerospace application, primarily because of its specific strength and stiffness. The present research is mostly experimental study based on vibration measurement and buckling behavior of industry driven woven fiber composite panels. The effects of different geometry, boundary conditions, aspect ratio and type of fiber and hygrothermal conditions on the natural frequencies of vibration and buckling of woven fiber composite panels are studied in this investigation. Experiments have also been conducted to study the vibration and buckling characteristics of carbon/glass hybrid plates for different lamination sequence and percentage of carbon and glass fiber. The finite element package, ANSYS 13.0 was used to obtain numerical results and validate the experimental results obtained. The free vibration characteristics are studied with FFT analyzer. The critical buckling load is determined using INSTRON 1195. From the results obtained it was observed that, the frequencies of vibration as well as critical buckling load increased with increase in thickness. As the conditioning temperature deviates from the manufacturing temperature, the natural frequencies decrease gradually. The increase in moisture concentration of the laminate results in decrease in the modal frequencies. The studies on hybrid plates show that they possess the advantages of both their constituent fibres and have properties intermediate to the properties of individual fibres. The effect of percentage composition and sequence of lamination of the fibres on vibrational and buckling characteristics of the composite plates were observed. It was observed that the failure due to tensile load in hybrids is governed by delamination between layers. The buckling results show that stiffer materials on outermost layer give maximum buckling strength compared to those with carbon fibres in inner layers

A higher-order theory for geometrically nonlinear analysis of composite laminates

A third-order shear deformation theory of laminated composite plates and shells is developed, the Navier solutions are derived, and its finite element models are developed. The theory allows parabolic description of the transverse shear stresses, and therefore the shear correction factors of the usual shear deformation theory are not required in the present theory. The theory also accounts for the von Karman nonlinear strains. Closed-form solutions of the theory for rectangular cross-ply and angle-ply plates and cross-ply shells are developed. The finite element model is based on independent approximations of the displacements and bending moments (i.e., mixed finite element model), and therefore, only C sup o -approximation is required. The finite element model is used to analyze cross-ply and angle-ply laminated plates and shells for bending and natural vibration. Many of the numerical results presented here should serve as references for future investigations. Three major conclusions resulted from the research: First, for thick laminates, shear deformation theories predict deflections, stresses and vibration frequencies significantly different from those predicted by classical theories. Second, even for thin laminates, shear deformation effects are significant in dynamic and geometrically nonlinear analyses. Third, the present third-order theory is more accurate compared to the classical and firt-order theories in predicting static and dynamic response of laminated plates and shells made of high-modulus composite materials

Natural vibration induced parametric excitation in delaminated Kirchhoff plates

This paper revisits the problem of free vibration of delaminated composite plates with Lévy type boundary conditions. The governing equations are derived for laminated Kirchhoff plates including through-width delamination. The plate is divided into two subplates in the plane of the delamination. The kinematic continuity of the undelaminated part is established by using the system of exact kinematic conditions. The free vibration analysis of orthotropic simply supported Lévy plates reveals that the delaminated parts are subjected to periodic normal and in-plane shear forces. This effect induces parametric excitation leading to the susceptibility of the plates to dynamic delamination buckling during the vibration. An important aspect is that depending on the vibration mode the internal forces have a two-dimensional distribution in the plane of the delamination. To solve the dynamic stability problem the finite element matrices of the delaminated parts are developed. The distribution of the internal forces in the direction of the delamination front was considered. The mode shapes including a half-wave along the width of the plate accompanied by delamination buckling are shown based on the subsequent superimposition of the buckling eigenshapes. The analysis reveals that the vibration phenomenon is amplitude dependent. Also, the phase plane portraits are created for some chosen cases showing some special trajectories

Static and Free Vibration Analyses of Composite Shells Based on Different Shell Theories

Equations of motion with required boundary conditions for doubly curved deep and thick composite shells are shown using two formulations. The first is based upon the formulation that was presented initially by Rath and Das (1973, J. Sound and Vib.) and followed by Reddy (1984, J. Engng. Mech. ASCE). In this formulation, plate stiffness parameters are used for thick shells, which reduced the equations to those applicable for shallow shells. This formulation is widely used but its accuracy has not been completely tested. The second formulation is based upon that of Qatu (1995, Compos. Press. Vessl. Indust.; 1999, Int. J. Solids Struct.). In this formulation, the stiffness parameters are calculated by using exact integration of the stress resultant equations. In addition, Qatu considered the radius of twist in his formulation. In both formulations, first order polynomials for in-plane displacements in the z-direction are utilized allowing for the inclusion of shear deformation and rotary inertia effects (first order shear deformation theory or FSDT). Also, FSDTQ has been modified in this dissertation using the radii of each laminate instead of using the radii of mid-plane in the moment of inertias and stress resultants equations. Exact static and free vibration solutions for isotropic and symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply cylindrical shells for different length-to-thickness and length-to-radius ratios are obtained using the above theories. Finally, the equations of motion are put together with the equations of stress resultants to arrive at a system of seventeen first-order differential equations. These equations are solved numerically with the aid of General Differential Quadrature (GDQ) method for isotropic, cross-ply, angle-ply and general lay-up cylindrical shells with different boundary conditions using the above mentioned theories. Results obtained using all three theories (FSDT, FSDTQ and modified FSDTQ) are compared with the results available in literature and those obtained using a three-dimensional (3D) analysis. The latter (3D) is used here mainly to test the accuracy of the shell theories presented here

Boundary Element Analysis of Shear Deformable Shallow Shells Under Harmonic Excitation

In this work, the harmonic analysis of shallow shells using the Boundary Element Method, is presented. The proposed boundary element formulation is based on a direct time-domain integration using the elastostatic fundamental solutions for both in-plane elasticity and shear deformable plates. Shallow shell was modeled coupling boundary element formulation of shear deformable plate and two-dimensional plane stress elasticity. Effects of shear deformation and rotatory inertia were included in the formulation. Domain integrals related to inertial terms were treated using the Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed formulation

SOLID-SHELL FINITE ELEMENT MODELS FOR EXPLICIT SIMULATIONS OF CRACK PROPAGATION IN THIN STRUCTURES

Crack propagation in thin shell structures due to cutting is conveniently simulated using explicit finite element approaches, in view of the high nonlinearity of the problem. Solidshell elements are usually preferred for the discretization in the presence of complex material behavior and degradation phenomena such as delamination, since they allow for a correct representation of the thickness geometry. However, in solid-shell elements the small thickness leads to a very high maximum eigenfrequency, which imply very small stable time-steps. A new selective mass scaling technique is proposed to increase the time-step size without affecting accuracy. New ”directional” cohesive interface elements are used in conjunction with selective mass scaling to account for the interaction with a sharp blade in cutting processes of thin ductile shells